Modding means different things to different people, but this site focuses on using the official mod tools to create new or modified content for the games in the MCC and Halo Custom Edition. These tools are updated verisons of the original content pipelines of the games. Some areas we don't cover are:
- Halo Online and ElDewrito.
- Halo 2 Vista, its legacy editing kit, and project cartographer.
At a high level, you will be using the tools to create and edit tags, build maps from them, then publish those maps to Steam workshop if you want.
A foreword
It's important to set some expectations before we begin. Halo modding is a niche hobby and official documentation is limited or outdated. Until recently, we were never the intended audience of these tools and they sometimes lack the useability expected of public products. Despite the long history of Halo modding, the games are still closed source and discoveries are still being made in 2023 about how the games work.
Compared to powerful modern products like Unity or Unreal, Halo's engine is more specialized and often limited for the hardware of the time. You'll have an easier time working with the engine than against it. The relative simplicity of Halo's assets means a lower barrier to entry and you'll learn how to get more from less. Some find that the tag system offers a conceptually simpler framework than the wide-open possibilities of other engines.
We encourage you to take things slowly. People often start with a highly ambitious vision, only to get discouraged and give up entirely when they hit walls. You can spend years perfecting your craft in one area like level creation but still know nothing about another like animation. It's important to make small goals so you don't get overwhelmed. Remember that Halo's content was created by dozens of artists and designers over years of work.
Finally, keep your momentum up by learning how to troubleshoot and ask for help.
Getting started
If you're ready to start, download the mod tools from Steam, then read through the following core concepts. These apply no matter which game you're planning to mod: